"Numerous Italian towns have adopted a scheme of selling abandoned homes off for 1 euro, or about $1.12 at the current exchange rate.
Urbanization has led to the dwindling populations of provincial settlements as cities and their suburbs thrive and become overpopulated. As a result, some of Italy's most beautiful, historical small towns are dying out.
The headline-grabbing low prices are designed to combat that, and what success there has been so far has led to a proliferation of similar strategies being deployed across the country."